Alienware dominates the gaming laptops market and for a good reason. Their newest Alienware m15 R4 series comes with high-powered internal components and is surprisingly portable, especially if compared to its predecessors.
Alienware m15 R4 Overview
Now, Alienware m15 R4 is not your super slim and ultra lightweight laptop, but if you are shopping the brand, you probably don’t even want it to be. Virtually anyone can recognize an Alienware laptop by its exterior, and if you are at all familiar with the brand, you know it will come fully loaded with top-of-the-line specs. Yet, the new m15 R4 series laptops are surprisingly mobile and relatively are not that heavy at all, by gaming laptops standards anyways. Being a full-size 15.6-inch laptop, Alienware m15 R4 weights only 5.3 lbs. But if you are looking for something even more serious, we recommend checking out the 17.3-ich Alienware Area 51m R2 beast of a gaming machine.
Before we dive into reviewing the new Alienware m14 R4 series, here is our pros and cons summary:
YEA
- Customizable keyboard and chassis backlit (per-key RGB)
- Sturdy laptop, beautiful design with no extra frills
- Great sound
- Exceptional gaming performance
NAY
- Poor battery life
- Trackpad could be larger
- Noisy fans
Design and Features
Looks-wise, the updated Alienware m15 R4 did not change much. It still comes in the same two colors: the Lunar Light and the Dark Side of the Moon. Plenty of RGB trims, an alien-head logo on the back cover, and, of course, the per-zone RGB keyboard backlit. Chassis are coated aluminum, durable and sturdy, although the soft-finish surface looks like it can get scratched easily.
The keyboard feels very nice, it offers accurate keystrokes, so typing on the new laptop won’t be much of an adjustment. The touchpad board could be better though. It is quite small in size and feels a bit cheap. Tracking gestures are pretty pretty accurate, but the left and right clicks can be a bit of a pain. Because it is a clickpad-style touchpad, single and double tapping often turns out to be a left/right click. But since most users are using the laptop for gaming and will likely opt for an external mouse anyways, this shouldn’t be much of an annoyance. We have noticed that the smaller trackpad might be a somewhat common theme with the new gaming laptop models. For example, the updated Lenovo Legion Y540 model has a virtually identical tiny touchpad.
Alienware m15 R4 Display Options
All models of m15 R4 series come with great IPS matte displays. Here are your options:
- 144Hz 300-nits FHD (1920 x 1080)
- 300Hz 300-nits FHD;
- OLED 4K screen with 60GHz 400-nits (3840 x 2160) + Tobbii Eyetracking technology.
Even though the display is matte and therefore is supposed to be anti-reflective, you get an annoying amount of glare. The 720p camera quality could also be better but it is certainly not a dealbreaker.
The 4K OLED option offers extra bright colors, which can be an overkill, unless you are doing some color-sensitive work on it. For games, the regular FHD panel might be a better choice. Plus, the FHD 144Hz panel supports NVIDIA G-Sync and Advanced Optimus (the other two options do not support those features).
Processor and GPU
You get a 10th generation Intel Core i7 2.2GHz processor (i7-10870H) and the higher-end Intel Core i9-10980HK 2.4GHz CPU (5.3GHz Max Turbo frequency). But the most exciting Alienware m15 R4 upgrade is the addition of the NVIDIA RTX 30 series graphics. On the lower end of things is the GeForce RTX 3060 6GB GDDR6 card. So, paired with the i7-10870H processor, the absolute cheapest model will cost you $1619.99. For those with the larger budget, Dell offers RTX 3070 8GB graphics, up to 32GB RAM memory, and several storage size options to choose from. The model can also be configured to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 graphics, and adding the Core i9-10980HK processor comes up to $4109.99 plus tax.
Alienware m15 R4 Battery Life
Weak battery is a common issue with nearly all gaming laptop models, and Alienware units in particular. Unfortunately, in 2021 Dell has yet to offer any significant improvements in this field. If you do an extensive rundown test, you will probably get about 1 hour of total charge time, even less if playing video games. But, there are steps one can take to get a little bit more juice out of their m15, like: lower your screen brightness, make sure you have a good Internet signal, close any idling apps and programs.
I/O Ports and Slots
Alienware m15 R4 line offers great ports selection, perhaps even better than the competitor’s MSI GS75 Stealth does:
- Three USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports
- MicroSD-Card Reader
- HDMI + Mini DisplayPort
- Alienware Graphics Amplifier Port
- Thunderbolt 3 Port
- Killer Networks E3100x Gigabit Ethernet NIC
- Combo audio jack
- Wedge-Shaped Lock Slot
Alienware m15 R4 Cooling System
The models are equipped with Dell’s latest technology: Advanced Alienware Cryo-Tech. It is designed to improve airflow by channeling the cool air onto the motherboard. In reality though, etra RTX 30 series GPU power translates into excessively loud fans. While the heatsink system does a pretty good job preventing the laptop from overheating, fan RPM rate needs to be lower.
Pre-Owned Alienware m15 R4 Trade In Value
If you tried this laptop out already and did not think it was for you, but now it is too late to return it to the store, you are probably going to have to re-sell it yourself. Laptop’s reselling value depends on many factors, such is its configuration, functionality and cosmetic condition, but let’s just look at the best case scenarios.
Say, you have the cheaper Dell Alienware M15 R4 with RTX 3060 graphics, and assuming it is fully functional and in mint condition, the reselling value caps at $826*.
The fanciest of the line Alienware M15 R4 Intel Core i9 10th Gen. NVIDIA RTX 3080 gets you up to $1632 cash offer*.
Bottom Line
Alienware laptops are pretty great, and the new m15 R4 line is no exception. But is it the best gaming laptop on the market right now? We would refrain from making such statements. While we love the looks and the specs of the 2021 Alienware m15 R4, there are several things Dell could improve on, battery life and cooling fans being the most important ones. Ultimately, this is an expensive purchase, and you really have to look at every aspect, before making the decision to upgrade. But even if you did buy it and then later decided it wasn’t the best option for you, there is always an option of the laptop trade-in to help you recover some of the value and make sure your used gadget lives on!
*Priced on 05/05/2021. Subject to change.
